The cult of positivity is my own personal arch nemesis. In my tiny sliver of the yoga-verse, I am famous for how much I hate affirmations. Get out of my face with reality manifestation fantasies, because real science has my back on this one. So when I started following @afffirmations on Instagram, it was mostly because I am always curious about things that are #trending. But not only has it become my favorite account, I actually find that it makes me feel more okay in the world and somehow less lonely. Here’s how these sparkly neon affirmation memes won over this stalwart nihilist.
In case you’re wondering who hurt me and made me so bitter and jaded: Yes, my anti-Good Vibes-Only stance did actually start many many years ago. I vividly remember the first time I told someone that I thought positive affirmations were bullshit. I was standing in line for the bathroom with an acquaintance at an art opening in Brooklyn. “I started doing yoga,” the woman told me. “Bikram.” I nodded because I didn’t want to say what I was thinking, which was, “That’s not yoga. That’s a cult.” To each their own, after all.
